


Half

by thingsarequeer



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-19
Updated: 2012-11-19
Packaged: 2017-11-19 02:19:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/567947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingsarequeer/pseuds/thingsarequeer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirk and Spock visit a kennel. Fluffy kitten adoption ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a friend. Originally posted to Tumblr and moved for archive.

“I beg your pardon, James, but my ability to comprehend why we are here is a little —” 

Kirk frowned slightly, turning to glance over his shoulder at Spock, whose words, he found, were suddenly at a stand-still. It was happening more often these days, his sudden inability to complete his sentences. Most disturbing, really. Spock had taken to investigating the sudden malady, trying to derive the reasoning behind such a preposterous habit. But all his attempts to dig to the solution were often interrupted by the same individual who seemed to cause the fits that resulted in his lapse of vocabulary in the first place. 

“I told you, Spock,” Kirk said, quirking a sudden grin and waiting for his second-in-command to catch up with his steady pace. The building they approached appeared sterile and clean from the outside. But Kirk knew that once they came through the door, the smells and sounds of an adoption kennel would soon overwhelm them. Adoption was the best course to go in an instance like this anyway. No point in ignoring those that needed a home already. 

“Yes, but your explanation was a bit vague.” Spock’s expression seemed to change the moment they were entering the low building, a strange shifting of his features that had Kirk’s eyes twinkling in mirth. “A kennel?” 

“That’s what people _do_. Get animals together. I was thinking a cat. You seem more the cat type anyway.” 

“James, the probability of being able to properly care for an animal whilst aboard the—” 

But Kirk, it seemed, wasn’t listening. Spock was hardly surprised. His captain seemed to excel at not paying attention. Even so, he trailed after his best friend in a cloud of vague disinterest. Any attempts from Kirk at rousing a certain level of participation went unanswered. It was disheartening to say the least. No matter what kind of cat Kirk presented, Spock reiterated his stance on the matter - the cost, the responsibility, the time. No matter if it was short or long-haired, trained or otherwise. Spock was firm. 

Kirk was on the verge of giving up. He’d turned from the last grown cat in the kennel, only to see Spock stooped over a larger cage - one that held a litter of very small black and white kittens. For a moment, Kirk was shocked. Because there - written across his friend’s face - was almost an expression of softness. Kirk didn’t see it very often. Not in the light of day. 

“This one,” Spock said suddenly, pointing with his index finger at the smallest kitten in the large litter. The kitten was asleep in the corner away from the others, one half of its body splashed in brilliant white and the other half in deep black. “The statistical probability that it would survive without our care is immensely low. And it’s…” Another strange expression, this one that Kirk didn’t recognize. 

Kirk pressed a hand to his friend’s shoulder. “What, Spock?” 

“Like me,” the Vulcan finished, and his expression became closed off once more. Kirk didn’t have to ask. 

_Half._

“This one,” Kirk responded firmly, and reached into the cage to lift the tiny kitten into his broad arms. ”Good choice, Spock. Good choice.”


End file.
